Title 12 — Conservation
21 chapters · 371 sections in this title.
12 V.I.C. § 301 Purpose
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The purpose of this chapter is to preserve, manage and protect the fishery resources, to regulate fishing and to secure its increase and development in all marine, estuarine and freshwaters within the jurisdiction of the United States Virgin Islands.
12 V.I.C. § 302 Definitions
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(1) In this chapter, unless the context indicates otherwise, the following words, terms and phrases shall have the following meanings:(1) “Alien” means a person who is not a United States citizen by birth or naturalization.(2) “Angling” means fishing with hand line or rod with na…
12 V.I.C. § 303 Duties of the Commissioner
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(a) The Commissioner shall have the following powers and duties:(1) To preserve, manage and protect the fishery resources of the territory in the inland and jurisdictional coastal waters thereof.(2) To regulate the operations of all fishermen vessels of this territory engaged in …
12 V.I.C. § 304 Administration; rules and regulations
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(a) The Commissioner shall prescribe all rules and regulations necessary or desirable for carrying out the duties, obligations, powers and responsibilities conferred upon him under this chapter, which, after being approved in accordance with chapter 25 of Title 3 of the Code and …
12 V.I.C. § 305 Conservation officers; powers and authority
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(a) Conservation officers shall have the authority, without warrant, to board, inspect and search any boat, fishing appliance, storage or processing plant, fish house or any warehouse, building or vehicle engaged in transporting any fish or fishery product. Such authority to sear…
12 V.I.C. § 306 Duties of Attorney General
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If at any time any question of law or any litigation arises, and the Attorney General is otherwise occupied, and cannot give the time and attention necessary to such question of law or litigation as the occasion demands, the several Assistant Attorneys General shall attend to any…
12 V.I.C. § 307 Injunctions
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Courts of the territory shall have jurisdiction to enforce the fisheries of the territory by injunction.
12 V.I.C. § 308 Bond of employees
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The Commissioner may require, as he determines, that bond be given by any employee of the Department, payable to the Governor of the territory for the use and benefit of those whom it may concern, in such penal sums with good and sufficient surety or sureties approved by the Comm…
12 V.I.C. § 309 Ownership of navigable waters
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(a) Subject to the provisions of federal laws pertaining to the proprietary rights of the Government of the United States, all beds and bottoms of navigable rivers, streams, lagoons, lakes, sounds, inlets, bays, roadsteads, harbors, oceans, seas or other bodies of water within th…
12 V.I.C. § 310 Jurisdiction
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For the purpose of this chapter, the jurisdiction of the territory shall include all inland and estuarine waters and shall extend to either 3 miles from the shorelines of the territory or to any international boundary located within such 3 mile limit, whichever distance is the sh…
12 V.I.C. § 311 Fishing
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No person may engage in fishing and no vessel or other fishing device may be used in fishing in the territory unless registered, certified or licensed in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.
12 V.I.C. § 312 Registration, certification and licensing
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(a) The administration and enforcement of Title 25, chapter 15 of the Code, regarding the identification and operation of motor boats, shall be vested in the Commissioner, and all fees and monies received under the provisions of said chapter shall be deposited in the Fish and Gam…
12 V.I.C. § 313 Nonresident fishermen
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Any person not a resident of the territory and desiring to engage in commercial fishing in the territory, must conform to the same laws, rules and regulations by which the resident fishermen of the territory are governed and no person not a resident of the territory may bring his…
12 V.I.C. § 314 Fish and Game Fund
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Moneys received by the territory for fishing licenses, certificates of number, vessel registrations, fines or other penalties relating to fish or fisheries and such sums as may be credited for other reasons for fish or fisheries activities in the territory, including sums receive…
12 V.I.C. § 315 Reports of owners of boats and fishermen
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(a) The owner of every boat, vessel or watercraft and the owner of every pot, trap, net, seine or other fishing gear (hereinafter referred to as devices), used for fishing purposes, and every licensee or person registered under sections 312 and 313 of this chapter shall, annually…
12 V.I.C. § 316 Closed seasons
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(a) The Commissioner shall announce, at least forty-five (45) days in advance, the beginning of each of the closed seasons prescribed in the regulations issued pursuant to this chapter for the protection of one or more species of fish as herein defined. (b) The transportation and…
12 V.I.C. § 317 Fish for scientific, educational and breeding purposes
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The Department, and any other person or organization with the written permission of the Commissioner, may catch or cause to be caught, for scientific or educational purposes or for fish culture, any fish or marine organism at any time, from the jurisdictional waters of the territ…
12 V.I.C. § 318 Protection of marine turtles, nests and eggs; penalties
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(a) It is the intent of the Legislature of the United States Virgin Islands to contribute to the preservation of marine turtles in the Caribbean area, said turtles now being close to extinction. (b) It shall be unlawful for any person to take, kill, possess, mutilate or in any wa…
12 V.I.C. § 319 Lobsters; regulations; penalties
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(a) It is intent of the Legislature of the United States Virgin Islands to place restrictions upon the taking of spiny lobsters for the purpose of insuring and maintaining the highest possible production of such lobsters, for comm ercial purposes, consistent with sensible conserv…
12 V.I.C. § 320 Fishing in freshwater, regulations
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Fishing is hereby prohibited in any public pond, lake, stream or other body of freshwater in the territory by any gear, device or other means except that of angling; provided, that the Commissioner may grant permission, which shall be in writing, for the use of other fishing gear…
12 V.I.C. § 321 Fishing gear, regulations
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(a) Haul seines shall have no meshes smaller than one and one-half (1 ½) inches stretch measure; except that seines specifically used for the catching of bait fish may have smaller meshes; provided, that such bait seines and the use thereof shall otherwise conform to the provisio…
12 V.I.C. § 322 Fishing with explosives, poisons, drugs, chemicals, spears, hooks, or similar devices
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(a) It is prohibited to fish by means of explosives in the territory, or to sell or to possess fish caught by means of any kind of explosives, except that sharks may be taken with an implement popularly known as a “bang stick” and possession of sharks taken by such means shall no…
12 V.I.C. § 323 Contamination of fishing waters
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It is prohibited to throw or cause to be thrown or deposited into any waters of the United States Virgin Islands, oils, acids, poisons or any other substance which destroys or injures fish as defined herein. When any natural or artificial person desires to discharge into any wate…
12 V.I.C. § 323a Interference with commercial fishing
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(a) It shall be unlawful for any person to enter the tidal zone to the lee of the stern of any floating fishing craft at anchor for a distance of one hundred and seventy-five feet by the width of the transom, but not less than 10 feet in width, provided that such craft is not clo…
12 V.I.C. § 324 Sale of local seafood
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No person shall sell, or represent for the purpose of sale, in any form, any seafood as local or native seafood unless the same shall have been originally caught or taken in this territory; nor shall any person so sell, or represent for the purpose of sale, in any form, any crust…
12 V.I.C. § 325 Penalties; rewards for convictions
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(a) Any person who knowingly counsels, aids or assists in a violation of any provision of this chapter or of any rule or regulation promulgated thereunder or knowingly shares in any of the proceeds of said violation by receiving or possessing fish, shall be deemed to have incurre…
12 V.I.C. § 325a Public fish markets
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(a) All public fish markets in the United States Virgin Islands heretofore established under the jurisdiction of the Department of Agriculture are hereby transferred to and continued without interruption within the Department of Conservation and Cultural Affairs. (b) The Commissi…
12 V.I.C. § 326 Separability
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It is hereby declared to be the intent of the Legislature of the Virgin Islands of the United States that if a court of competent jurisdiction finds any provisions of this chapter to be invalid or ineffective in whole or in part, the effect of such decision shall be limited to th…